Israel has announced that it will shut down the West Bank and Gaza Strip militarily, citing security of the Knesset elections scheduled for Monday.
In a military statement, the occupation authorities said that they will impose a comprehensive closure on all areas of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip starting from midnight on Monday, and the closure will continue until midnight next Tuesday.
The statement said that the military siege would be eased, barriers to the movement of citizens and goods would be opened on Tuesday morning, and only what he described as exceptional humanitarian and medical cases would be allowed to cross during the closure period.
It is noteworthy that Israel is witnessing Sunday an election silence before the ballot in which outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his rival leader of the Blue and White Alliance Benny Gantz seek to obtain the required majority to form the next government, and opinion polls indicate that they will not achieve this.